‘FEELING LEFT OUT’: City pleads national support amid COVID surge, vaxx shortage

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The Iloilo City Government on Wednesday reiterated its request to the national government to provide additional assistance and more vaccines against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as it continues to grapple with the surge in cases.

Data from the Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD) as of June 16 indicated that Iloilo City logged 9,718 COVID-19 cases (2,551 active cases, 6,924 recoveries, and 240 deaths).

In a letter addressed to DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III and vaccine czar Sec. Carlito Galvez, Mayor Jerry Treñas sounded alarm on “overwhelmed” health care facilities and compromised patient care.

Treñas outlined the city’s request, which include the following:

– Reimbursement to all city hospitals by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC or PhilHealth);

– Medical supplies and equipment such as ventilators and high flow oxygen therapy (HFOT);

– Medications such as Remdesivir and Tocilizumab;

– Provision of more hospital personnel; and

– Additional COVID-19 vaccines.

The mayor cited the fact that uniformed health personnel assigned to augment staffing at city hospitals may be pulled out by their agencies when necessary.

He also pointed to the inadequate number of additional nurses, nursing aides, and utility workers they temporarily hired also to augment staffing in city hospitals and quarantine facilities.

“With the surge of the COVID-19 cases in Panay Island, hospitals and health care facilities are now overwhelmed in Iloilo City as regional center. Medical professionals have raised concerns that ‘quality patient care has become compromised due to lack of medical supplies, manpower, and funds,” Treñas said in the letter.

He also raised concerns on the city’s depleting vaccine supply amid a “successful” vaccination program, stating that while they currently have 14,000 vaccine supplies, this may only last until June 23.

Iloilo City received a total of 34,524 single-dose vials of CoronaVac of Chinese biotechnology company Sinovac, and 1,688 10-dose vials of AZD1222 from European drugmaker AstraZeneca.

Around 8,000 people have been fully vaccinated according to the city government as of June 15.

But data from the DOH-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD) as of June 13 indicated that 14,276 individuals in Iloilo have received the second dose.

These vaccines that were turned over to the city government were from donations given either by other countries or international organizations to the national government via the DOH.

“We are doing well with our vaccination rollout though our supplies will last only a week up to June 23, 2021. Thus, we humbly ask for more vaccine allocation for the high-risk senior citizens, religious leaders, and economic frontliners,” Treñas stressed in his letter.

The mayor pleaded for national authorities to respond to the city’s request swiftly.

“We can only do so much at the local level as we work closely together with all sectors. We are looking forward to immediate approval of this request as we continue to move as one towards recovery and healing,” the mayor added.

In a separate Facebook post on June 15, Treñas expressed the feeling of being left out as the city tries to curb the spread of the virus.

“We felt so left out. The cases are rising in the region, and we are experiencing a surge. We are pleading for help. We ask for them to understand our situation. We hope to be part of the priority of vaccine allocations as people in the region are dying almost every day,” he said.

 

MORE VACCINES TO ARRIVE

The city government’s COVID Team spokesperson Jeck Conlu said in a radio interview that the city is expecting to receive in July 15,000 AZD1222 doses and another 25,000 doses in August.

These two batches are part of the 600,000-dose order the city government placed last January 2021.

The next batch of doses will depend on outputs from AstraZeneca’s new plant in Thailand according to Conlu.

He said the city government was already “looking at the possibility that the full 600,000 doses will not be delivered within the year”.

Conlu also reiterated the mayor’s concerns that other areas of the country, including other Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs) such as Cebu City, Davao City, and the Metro Manila cities, had been receiving more vaccines despite “being on the same level” as Iloilo City.

“Our numbers are far compared to Cebu, Davao, and Metro Manila cities. We are the same status as cities, or Highly Urbanized Cities. I cannot state the exact difference, but we do not have the same numbers as them,” Conlu said.

He also touted the city’s capacity to store COVID-19 vaccines, citing its acquisition of freezers for doses that require very low temperatures.

“When you look at it, there are many different vaccines arriving in those cities. For us, we have the capacity to store and administer Pfizer, Moderna, and even Gamaleya vaccines. Mayor Jerry Trenas has been preparing this since last year, so that’s why whatever brand of vaccine, [we are prepared],” he said.

COVID-19 vaccinations of 1,400 doses of Coronavac will be administered today and tomorrow, June 18, at the University of San Agustin Gym according to Conlu.

The city government said in a media release on Tuesday that it has spent P252 million for vaccines procurement alone, including P150 million for AZD1222, P49 million for American biotech company Novovax’s Covovax, and P53 million for Covaxin by Indian biotech firm Bharat.

Out of the three vaccine brands, only AZD1222 and Covaxin have been given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) as of this writing, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.